Skreddy Pedals’ take on the Tone Bender: the Kusanagi Fuzz

The Tone Bender is one of the most legendary effects in guitar history, and for good reason. The signature fuzz sound it produced inspired a generation of burgeoning rock guitarists. It was a notoriously fickle design though, using rare components and positive ground connection (almost all effects are negative-ground power).

Skreddy Pedals has introduced a fuzz pedal, called Kusanagi, that remains true to the original circuit design (circa 1966) while including additional, updated features. Many of the esoteric electronic components are included, such as larger carbon resistors, axial capacitors and germanium transistors.

While the Tone Benders of yesteryear featured positive ground power, the Kusanagi features pedalboard-friendly negative-ground power and can be run off of the adapter or a 9v battery. The Skreddy also features true bypass switching and top-mounted input/output jack in a solid enclosure.

There are 3 controls. Level adjusts the output, attack serves as input gain, and the gate control adjusts the bias and allows for fine-tuning of the fuzz sound. The Kusanagi from Skreddy Effects is a fresh take on a classic design. – Brandon Stoner